Winter 2026 – Looking for Sunshine & Smiles – Part 1

Another trip with a new angle – we have swapped our 7m motorhome for a teeny tiny Vito Camper only 5.2m long with a pop top and hardy enough room to swing a mouse let alone a cat! But this was a decision that we came to as we wanted to be able to use the camper as a day van and explore more remote areas and park up with more discretion.
It would be cheaper to run, we’d wild camping or use free Aires and in turn we’d spend the extra on staying in Airbnb‘s every few days especially during winter trips.

The next 6 weeks were going to be a test for us as we bought the camper in October but hasn’t used it apart from the odd day out and one bad night on our drive over Christmas.

So, we left on Bobs birthday January 17^th for 6 weeks heading off for the sunshine. I did have my reservations about the climate in Spain and Portugal this year as it has been wet recently with some awful storms.

We took the ferry from Portsmouth and we were only 1 of 18 vehicles on board and boy did it feel deserted. We were given a Pet Friendly cabin so were able to bring George on board with us for a change. Although he was cabin bound apart from a small pet exercising area where he had to wear a muzzle the whole time – he hated that but did do as he was told.

On arrival to Caen at 22:00 we decided to drive for an hour as we had a 5-6 hour drive the following day to get to our first Airbnb. We stopped at Avranches, a small French town on high ground that dates to Roman times and has a very pretty botanical garden that overlooks the stunning view of Mont St Michel.

We slept (badly) in a free Aire struggling to come to terms with moving ‘stuff’ around the van to accommodate eating and sleeping.

The next day replenished with fresh croissants and coffee for breakfast we had a lovely drive along non tolls roads to a very nice Airbnb in Chatelaillon-Plage  (south of La Rochelle) – situated literally 2 minutes’ walk from a very long sandy beach with cafes, brasseries and a small supermarket stocked with French delights. The Airbnb was very clean and well equipped; it even had a steaming hot tub awaiting us.

Two nights here, eating French food and wine and some long walks along the beach front were the perfect start to our trip.

On the Tuesday we left for the long drive to Spain – sticking once again to non-toll roads which up to Bayonne was ok but from then it would’ve been wise to take the toll roads as we got stuck in a lot of urban traffic which probably added an hour onto our journey.
I found a free Aire in Spain just over the border near Irun but high up in the mountains. So, our second night in the camper but this time a bit more organised….
When we woke in the morning I discovered on my G walk that we were right in the middle of a hiking area – some fabulous views and lots of trails to follow.

Our drive down the mountain took us along a very windy, hairpin bend route but stunning views that we kept stopping at the side of the road to take in. ( We would never have taken this route in our Motorhome).

Late afternoon we stopped at St Vincente de la Barquera – a small surfing resort town  – Bob spent some time metal detecting on the beach whilst I went for a walk but as we couldn’t sleep in the car park, I found a free spot high up overlooking the town and a lake which would’ve been great but some really strong winds were coming in that night so we thought maybe it wouldn’t be a good idea to sleep in the pop top and we made up the bed from the bench seating – this was very cramped as we didn’t quite do it right  – another learning curve  – make sure you swivel the front seat around!

In this part of Spain currently it doesn’t get light until around 8-8;30am which is very odd but that means that everything is very quiet until at least 9am. So, once it was light we headed off without breakfast as we wanted to make a good start and stopped off for breakfast at another beach town Ribadesella which appeared to be recovering from awful storm the night before as they had some damage to the sea wall. We parked right next to the beach in a car park with 2.20m height restriction – had warm sunshine and a lovely view for our breakfast followed by a beach walk before heading off again.  For lunch we stopped at Tapia  – yes you guessed another coastal town with a great beach. The beaches along the northern coast of Spain are just stunning, rocky, sandy and lush vegetation. Once again were able to park right next to the beach in a car park with a height restriction.

After that we had to head inland  towards Lugo/Santiago to cut the top corner of Spain (we did that area on our last trip here) stopping off at another free Aire on the outskirts of Outeiro De Rei, luckily this Aire was tucked away with protection from the gale force winds coming in and although we heard the wind in the distance it didn’t affect us and we slept better. That was now 3 nights in the camper and we are slowly adjusting, knowing where to put everything on our arrival, what we need and how to cook a half decent meal inside the van.

We had one more 3-hour trip to get to our next Airbnb – we were heading for Baiona along the Galician coast just north of Portuguese border.

We have 4 nights here – time to relax and explore the area – if the weather permits. We stayed in Casa Rural – a little house on the outskirts of the town with no beach nearby and no shops – maybe not the best idea but the coastline was a short walk away and there are some lovely walks around. The town is only a short drive away along with numerous beaches.  

Over the 3 days we were there we had some rubbish weather a lot of wind and rain but we managed to get out and explore the area as best we could.

Baiona is an old town with a Walled Fortress that dates back over 2000 years. Baiona is famous for the Pinta Caravel a ship that sailed into port in the 15^th century marking it as the first port in Europe to receive news of the discovery of the new continent America with the first Native Americans onboard. There is a replica of the ship in the port with a museum which shows the conditions on board and some of the finds from the ‘new’ continent.
For a few days in March Baiona celebrates with a festival reliving such an important feat of history as well as memorials and statues around the town.  

Between the town of Baiona and Nigeran there is the Minor  – a sea inlet with a protected marshland for wetland birds. On my walk around the spit, I managed to observe a Kingfisher diving from its perch 3 times before finally catching its supper and flying off. A rare and special sight for me to experience.

Parts of the coastline around her are craggy rocks and the sea has several uninhabited rock islands – It made me think that this area would be difficult to navigate into?  On one day we walked to an old lighthouse now converted to a café and then up into the hills for views across the coastline.

So far the balance of the Camper an Airbnb was working well – it gave us the space to do washing, cook at home and get to know that area in more comfort especially with the wild weather. But it has made me question driving this route and not heading straight down to the sunnier parts of Spain. I think the next time I visit this area it must be during the warmer months as Galicia has so much to see and such and beautiful landscape to walk in and explore that I would like to spend more time without rushing down south.